Matthew 21:12-13
12. And Jesus went into the temple of God, and cast out all them that sold and bought in the temple, and overthrew the tables of the moneychangers, and the seats of them that sold doves,
13. And said unto them, It is written, My house shall be called the house of prayer; but ye have made it a den of thieves.
Luke 19:45-46
45. And he went into the temple, and began to cast out them that sold therein, and them that bought;
46. Saying unto them, It is written, My house is the house of prayer: but ye have made it a den of thieves.
Matthew and Luke both record the fact that, almost immediately after Jesus entered Jerusalem riding on the donkey and experiencing the praises of the people, He went to the Temple and began to throw out the moneychangers, merchants, etc. It is interesting to note that this was not the first time he had done this. After the first time, they had apparently crept back in and resumed their old ways. Thus, Jesus found it necessary to do some "housecleaning" for a second tme.
What was His problem with the moneychangers and merchants? Simply put, they had turned what was supposed to be worship into a man-made list of rules to follow and hoops to jump through. Furthermore, they were not being fair and honest in their dealings. They were taking advantage the rules and hoops to make a tidy little profit for themselves. And yes, the Pharisees had much to do with all of this. They had taken the focus off of God and put it on themselves. That is the antithesis of what worship is supposed to be.
Just as Jesus had to do some "housecleaning" in the temple, so we occasionally need to do some "housecleaning" in our lives. And just as Jesus had to do it more than once, "housecleaning" is not a one-time deal for us either. We are to be diligent in examining our lives for things that are taking our focus off of the Lord in any way, shape, or form. These things hinder our worship of Him. Thanks to our sin nature, it is very easy for Satan to get a foothold in some obscure area of our lives and work from there. I Peter 5:8 says, "Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour:" When we see him getting a foothold, we need to deal with that immediately. Our desire should be that nothing hinder us from worshipping our risen Lord the way that He should be worshipped.
As we approach Easter Sunday and celebrate the resurrection of our Lord, let's make sure that nothing in our lives is holding us back from giving Him all the dedication, devotion, and glory that He deserves.
I have certainly enjoyed your daily devotions in the Holy week.
Thank you for taking time our of your busy schedule to give us encouragement and food for thought.